By Mac Johnson (Deputy Editor)
Who is Benjamin Sesko?
He was supposed to be the next coming Erling Haaland—a tall, fast, bullyboy of a striker with a talent for finishing instinctively. The comparison doubtless began because both forwards honed their talent through the Red Bull system in Salzburg, and while Haaland's star ascended in the blue side of Manchester, Sesko was on the shopping list at Old Trafford, at the tender age of eighteen.
This was two years ago. In the time since, the rapid ascent of Sesko's own particular rocket has slowed to a cooler burn. As my dear co-host Rob Worthington mentioned in his own preview piece on the Slovenian international, he has taken time to find his feet in the Bundesliga in his first season, a season which has both emphasized the prodigious strengths and somewhat yawning weaknesses present in his game.
And that's what we're here to discuss! Benjamin Sesko might look great on paper financially, especially compared to the hefty hampers of cash being attached to names like Ivan Toney and Alexander Isak. But what would he bring to Arsenal? And is he the sort of profile we should bring in?
All and more will be answered. Read on! Especially Daniel Finton, who's been gagging for this piece. Shoutout Dani for making me dust off the writing cobwebs. Boy, it's been a while!
What does the eye test say?
Watch Sesko highlights on your platform of choice and you'll see a powerful mover with a keen instinct for goal. He's massive, but has the surprising ability to shimmy through tight spaces and drive his way through danger, usually with one or two direct, forceful touches. His first touch is often unbelievably steady—though he does sometimes take the ball too close in, and it gets stuck under his feet. Give him a sniff of goal, though, and he'll make you pay.
Watch a full match of Benjamin Sesko and you'll see more. He excells in vertical channels, and consistently confuses defenders with excellent stunts and false runs. He's a dominant finisher with both feet, and is an aerial threat three times over—his ability to connect with crosses and set pieces is matched only by his adriot hold-up play and flicked headers, and he's particularly adept at clearing the ball in his own box when opponents find themselves with a corner kick of their own.
Now that all sounds pretty peachy, but the boy from Radeçe is by no means the complete article. His passing is often wayward, and he often lacks any semblance of guile and precise weight when seeking to find teammates in high-pressure moments. He can't exactly change direction on a sixpence, and while he's excellent moving in channels and behind back lines, he has never proven himself adept at the sort of flicks and tricks often necessary to unknit a low block in the Premier League.
To sum up the 20-year old's game, he does the simple with aplomb, and to be frank, has rarely been required in his career to do much more. The German and Austrian games both lend themselves to the physical, vertical, and rapid, all of which suit his skillset to a tee. He profiles like a sort of hybrid between our own Kai Havertz, and Liverpool's Dawrin Nuñez, but there is some nuance within the numbers. Let's dive in!
What do Sesko's statistics suggest?
Let's start with the macro's. Sesko played 42 matches this season over four competitons, including Bundesliga, UCL, and two German cups, starting 22—a rate of about 52%. He earned 2057 minutes of a possible 3780, around 54% of his possible total. That's not exactly world-beating consistency, though with the electric Lois Openda and Leipzig cult hero Youssuf Poulson competing for minutes, it's perhaps understandable that Sesko might not have dominated the spotlight.
It should also be noted that Marco Rose rarely, if ever, fields two strikers at the same time. Openda played 3423 minutes from 3 more matches, and was Leipzig's clear first choice, which lends itself to the idea Sesko providing a promising backup option should he make the switch to North London. After all, with King Kai having just completed a 20 G+A season, the first name on our team sheet now lies unequivocally across the formerly reticent shoulders of our German dynamo.
In the context of a limited selection, what then can we truly determine about Sesko? His 14 league goals from 7.7 non-penalty xG suggest an elite finisher, and his average of 0.75 goals per 90 minutes—or three goals every four games played—certainly back that up.
The Slovenian hits the target with over half of his shots (53.3%) and scores nearly every other shot on target (48%). His overall yield of 0.26 Goals/SoT ranks him in the 95th percentile of European forwards. Let him shoot and he'll hit the target; let him hit the target and he'll score. Simple as.
Combine his prodigious strikerate with a curious lack of service—Sesko averages a paltry 31 touches per match, with less than half of those coming in the attacking third, and he only recieves around 23 passes per match, a statistic which places him near the bottom third of European forwards—and you get a player who seems to be able to do quite a lot with relatively little. The current adage for this phenomenon is a "killer," and it's the sort of profile that has not graced London Colney (now of Sobha Realty title) in quite some time.
This sort of efficiency also stems to his creative work. Though he is by no means a creative player, he has a few outliers in his data in a positive sense—amidst a sea of low numbers, he ranks high for through balls, and goal-creating actions through live-passes and take-ons. For me, these numbers demonstrate his comfort both scoring and providing in Leipzig's transitional system, where he is afforded the space, time, and verticality to make an impact despite limited touches.
There certainly are shortcomings in his game, and they are glaring. Sesko is often too easily dispossessed, more than twice per 90 minutes, and nowhere in his passing profile will you find a category ranking over the 50th percentile—in fact, he often struggles to reach the 30's. His pressing is energetic, but often inconsistent: he ranks very high for tackles and blocked passes, but his pressure rate and efficiency aren't great.
Sesko is raw, unrefined, and more one-dimensonal than desired of a truly world-class forward. But he is also only 20 years of age, and has the confidence and moxie to blossom under the right green thumb and set of pruners.
So is Sesko right for Arsenal?
We can say outright that Benjamin Sesko is a massive talent with meteoric potential. We have seen players of his caliber dominate the Premier League, and we have seen them flop brutally, but mostly we have seen them not fulfill that potential. For Arsenal to be willing to take a punt on a player like Sesko, they need to have a plan for his success, especially given the stakes of any significant financial investment, both in the landscape of current PSR regulations and given the echelons of the Premier League in which Arsenal have now somwehat cemented themselves.
There are diverging schools of thought on how Arsenal should act in the transfer market. Both center around increasing Arsenal's attacking output—in a season where our defense was rarely found to be at fault, it was attacking fluency that raised more question marks, especially during the first half of the season.
One school of thought would suggest that it is Arsenal's attacking talent that is lacking. It calls for an elite forward and finisher, one who can elevate, enhance, and somewhat revolutionize Arsenal's ability to score goals. This is a forward in the mold of Alexander Isak. The problem is that such a forward will cost a pretty penny, and likely scupper other areas of Arsenal's potential business.
The other school of thought follow's Arsenal's current model, where goals are scored primarily by committee. This model prizes rotation, depth, and variation—i.e, different players for different moments—above more direct dominance, the sort you find in players like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
This school of thought would suggest that a midfielder to accompany Declan Rice, and a winger to provide elite cover for Bukayo Saka, are most important to Arsenal's hopes of shoring up the weaknesses that led to them missing out on the title. It is also this school of thought that would advocate for the signing of a player like Sesko, or Brian Brobbey, to whom Arsenal have also been linked, so that they can supplement their forward line while investing heavily in other areas of the pitch.
One thing is for certain, though. In order for Arsenal to not only compete with Manchester City for a title, but to supplant them as champions, additions are necessary. Essentially, the key question is, can Arsenal continue to dominate defensively while letting set pieces fill the gaps for their attacking shortcomings?
As the common sense answer is "probably not," then it is up to Mikel Arteta, Edu Gaspar, and the rest of the recruitment team to find a solution. And while Sesko is not the complete package by any means, his ability to find impact through limited minutes, paired with his gargantuan potential, render him an astute and clever signing, especially if Arsenal can negotiate the price tag well.
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